The Dominican Summer League released their All-Star rosters for 2019. The league keeps things simple with an American League team and a National League team. The teams have 36 players each. There are 45 teams in the league, with most organizations having two teams in the league. The Cincinnati Reds only have one team in the league. They still landed three players on the National League squad.
Catcher Daniel Vellojin is in his second professional season. The 19-year-old from Colombia is having an impressive year for the DSL Reds at the plate. He’s currently hitting .368/.486/.540 through 26 games played. He’s already matched his total for extra-base hits that he had last season in 38 games played with three doubles, three triples, and two home runs. Vellojin has also walked more than he’s struck out this season, with 14 walks and just 11 strikeouts. The switch-hitter has also stolen five bases. His 1.026 OPS ranks 12th in the league. He’s also thrown out 35% of attempted base stealers this year.
Outfielder Darlin Guzman is also in his second professional season. The 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic is building on what he did last year when he showed plenty of power. Through 25 games played he’s hitting .343/.387/.627. He’s already hit 11 doubles, three triples, and he’s hit four home runs – matching his total from 2018. The left-handed hitter’s 1.015 OPS ranks 13th in the league.
Starting pitcher Jose Franco was also named an All-Star. The 18-year-old from Venezuela is in his first professional season. Through his seven starts to begin his career he’s dominated, posting a 1.61 ERA. He’s thrown 28.0 innings while not allowing a home run, walking just five batters, and he’s racked up 33 strikeouts. His ERA ranks 10th in the league. His 33 strikeouts rank 15th best in the league.
A big All-Star snub
One guy that is strangely missing from the All-Star team is third baseman Jose Acosta. The 19-year-old switch-hitter from the Dominican Republic is hitting .418/.484/.620. He’s also stolen 10 bases in 10 attempts. He leads the league in average and is third in the league in OPS. With such a large league it’s understandable that some deserving guys won’t make it. But how you can be hitting .418 with an OPS over 1.100 and not make it is wild. Either way, he deserves recognition somewhere for what he’s done this season.
Pretty impressive Trio there Doug. Do you think any of them make your top 30 list for next year?
I mean foursome..
Very doubtful. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a DSL player (or VSL player when that league existed) crack my Top 25 list. Part of that simply could be that the Reds haven’t spent big on teenagers on the international market, but part of it is that these guys are just so far away.
With that said, it’s certainly possible that a guy like Braylin Minier could crack the very back end of my Top 25 this year. I’m going to wait and see what the reports are after instructs on him – but he sounds like the kind of guy who could possibly be the type, in a down year for the system, who could get in there. And I think there’s a good chance he’ll be in the DSL in 2020.
But it’s just so tough to rank those guys with the guys over here. It’s almost an entirely different game being played.
Gotcha. Thanks for the reply
Might not the recognition Acosta needs be a trip to AZ to continue his development?
Do you have a scouting report on Jose Franco?